Proto-Jerome Gambits? (Part 5)

As a last look at the possible influences on Alonzo Wheeler Jerome, in his creation of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+, we take a look at the line 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6 (instead of 3...Bc5) which transposes, after 4.Nf3, to the Urusov Gambit, which is deeply covered at Michael Goeller's wonderful site.

While the 1857 analysis of the gambit by Prince Sergei Urusov may not have been available to AWJ, games like Kolisch - Paulsen, London, 1861, might have been.

It is hard to get very Jerome-ish here, after 4...Bc5, but Goeller does mention the modern game Hopf - Schintgen, Bratislava 1993, which continued 5.e5 Ng4 6.Bxf7+ (1-0, 34).

(Of course, if, instead, Black plays 4...Nc6, then after 5.0-0 Bc5 6.e5 Ng4 ["playable but rarely seen" according to coverage at Chessville.com] then 7.Bxf7+ would come in a Max Lange Variation of the Two Knights Defense, which is a whole 'nother thing...)

Chessville.com is Back!

My Home-Away-from-Home on the Internet has been, for many years, Chessville.com.

(By comparison, this blog has always been much more of a "man cave".)

Although Chessville has been inactive for almost a year, new material began showing up last week, under the editorship of Ken Surratt, brother of the previous Chessville guru, David Surratt.

I visit Chessbase and Chess History daily, and ChessCafe weekly. How nice to add Chessville back into the rotation!

Sunday Book Reviews

Long-time readers are no-doubt aware that over the last few years I have written 125 - 150 chess reviews, posted at the Chessville.com site. That is also the location for my short story fiction, from Sherlock Holmes to Perry the PawnPusher to The Kennedy Kids.

Unfortunately, Chessville has not posted new material in the last 5 months, and I am unsure when it will become active again. Therefore, I have decided to start posting reviews here, in "Sunday Book Reviews".

For the most part I will cover unorthodox or aggressive chess openings, as I did at Chessville, which should be of interest to many readers. For example, I have reviewed a number of books in the Secrets of Opening Surprises series (#4, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12), and it seems reasonable to give a look at #13.

I have reviewed books about openings less travelled (examples: Starting Out: d-pawn Attacks - the Colle-Zukertort, Barry and 150 Attacks by IM Richard Palliser; Starting Out: The Dutch Defense by Neil McDonald; and The Trompowsky by Nigel Davies), openings off of the beaten path (examples: Tango!  A Dynamic Answer to 1.d4 by Richard Palliser; Tiger's Modern by Tiger Hillarp Persson; and Chess On the Edge Volume 1, 2 and 3 - 100 Selected Games of Canadian Grandmaster Duncan Suttles, by FM Bruce Harper, GM Yasser Seirawan, with contributions by IM Gerard Welling,) and openings to which there is hardly a path at all (examples: Two Books by Richard Moody Jr. - Magic: Black to Move and Win! and Universal Chess: The Search For Truth And Beauty; Winning with the Krazy Kat and Old Hippo, by Gary K. Gifford, Davide Rozzoni and Bill Wall; and Challenging the Sicilian with 2.a3!? by Alexei Bezgodov).

I have even reviewed books on openings that challenge the Jerome Gambit in outrageousness, and which have inspired me to write my own tome on that duckbilled platypus of chess openings (Unorthodox Chess by Some Loser and In Your Face Chess Novelties by Andrew Tocher).

Please take a minute to let me know what you think about this idea.

Coming next Sunday Book Review: Captain Jack Sparrow!

Looking Deeper: The Reversed BSG

After yesterday's discovery of a reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit game (see "Through the Looking Glass: A Reversed BSG") I decided to check in with a couple of Bishop Opening experts and see what they had to say about it.

I emailed Dr. Timothy Harding, a Senior International Master of Correspondence Chess and author of over 30 chess books, including the classic Bishop's Opening, the still-referred-to Italian Game (with George Botterill), and Vienna Opening.

His interest in unorthodox openings, as well, is reflected in such titles as Counter Gambits, Irregular Openings for the 1990s, Dynamic White Openings and Dynamic Black Defenses.

By the way, Dr. Harding has written extensively on correspondence chess, having been editor of the Chess Mail magazine and compiler of the MegaCorr CD-ROM database series of correspondence games (for many years a "secret weapon" used by stronger players).

His newest book title is  Correspondence Chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824-1987 (see picture above) and it is really quite a great read. I will be reviewing it for Chessville.com.

Anyhow, to my dismay, but not to my surprise, Dr. Harding was not familiar with the reversed Blackburne Shilling Gambit, and the one game he sent me shows that White, who initiated the gambit, was not, either.

 Stormtrooper - Tofik
HCL-C1126 PlayChess.de, 2002

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nd5

4...Nxe4 5.Ne3

A lackluster reply.

A BSGer would fire out 5.Qg4 immediately. As Tim McGrew has written about the regular BSG: Only [the Queen] move gives Black’s idea any punch.

Sadly, the rest of the game is not very exciting, either, until the second player engineers a breakthrough and advances a pair of connected passed pawns...

5...d6 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Ng5 d5 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.Nf3 Bd6 11.0-0 0-0 12.a4 a6 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.d4 e4 15.Ne5 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Ne8 17.c3 f5 18.f4 g6 19.b3 Ng7 20.Ba3 Re8 21.Qd2 b5 22.a5 Bb7 23.Rfd1 c6 24.b4 Ne6 25.g3 Rc8 26.Bb2 Re7 27.Kg2 Rd7 28.Ra3 c5 29.h4 cxb4 30.cxb4 d4 31.Kg1 Rcc7 32.Ng2 d3 33.Rc3 Nd4 34.Ne1 Ne2+ White resigned

That's how it goes: sometimes the beginning of a research project moves along slowly... Tomorrow's post shows how quickly the pace can pick up!

No Way to Make A Living

Using my "extra" pawns to chase down a draw or a win against Black's extra piece in the Jerome Gambit can sometimes be an exhausting task. "That's no way to make a living," as they say. Even if your opponent slips at the end...

perrypawnpusher  - vladchess
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8

One way to change the flow of the game and try to keep his King out of trouble.

6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.O-O

I've had success after 7.d3 Qf6 8.O-O in two games in which I reversed my 7th and 8th moves:  perrypawnpusher - fortytwooz, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 29) and perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 12).

7...Nf6

Also seen: 7... Bd6 perrypawnpusher - Lark, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 18) and 7... Be6, perrypawnpusher - CorH, blitz, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 74).

8.d3 h6

8...Bg4 was seen in Lowe - Parker, corr, 1879, (1-0, 37)

9.Be3 Qe7

Exchanging Bishops was also okay.

10.d4 Bb6 11.f3 Kg8

Computers like Rybka tend to like solid pawn centers like the one White has and rate it accordingly, but there is a lot to do to get "something" out of the position for White.

12.Nc3

Moving another pawn with 12.c4 might have been better, at least according to Houdini 1.5a.

12... Kh7

The cute 12...Nd5 (note the pin on the e-pawn) was a bit better.

13. Qd3 g6 14.f4

Instead, Houdini prefers 14.Na4 Ba5 15.c4 b6 16.a3 c5 17.dxc5 Rd8 18.Qc2 bxc5 19.Bxc5 Bb6 20.Qf2 Qe8 21.Nxb6 axb6 22. Be3 Qe7 23.Rfd1 Be6 24.Qc2 Nd7 25.Qc3 Qg7 26.Bd4 Qf7 when Black's advantage is minimal.

Okay, if you say so... (The next book that I review for Chessville will be a strategy book!)

14...Rg8 15.Rae1 Ng4 16.h3 Nxe3 17.Qxe3 c5 18.Nd5 Qd6 19.Nxb6 axb6

20.dxc5 bxc5 21.Rd1 Qb6 22.Qb3 Be6 23.Qxb6 cxb6

If there was a thread in this game, I've probably lost it...

My only chance is to activate my Rooks.

24.a3 c4 25.Rd6 Bc8 26.Rxb6 Re8 27.e5 c3 28.bxc3 Rxa3 29.Rb3 Ra2 30.Rf2 Re7 31.Rd2 Rf7

32.g3

Simply overlooking the loss of a pawn.

32...Bxh3 33.Rb5 Re7 34.Kf2 Bf5 35.Kf3 h5 36.Rbd5 Ra3

Black is still better, but 36...Rc7 here would have been stronger.

Time was getting short for both of us. My plan was to continue to harass Black until one of us blundered.

37.Rc5 b6 38.Rc6 Rb7 39.Kf2 b5 40.e6  Re7 41.Rd7

Going for the swindle.

41...Rxd7 42.exd7 Bxd7

Simply 42... Ra8 was Game Over.

43.Rc7 Kh6 44.Rxd7 Rxc3 45.Rd2 b4 46.Kg2 draw.

This game reminds me of the saying about airplane landings: any one that you can walk away from is a good one...

It's just really that important

In a recent book review at Chessville that I wrote about GM Nigel Davies' 10 Great Ways to Get Better at Chess (Everyman Chess, 2010), I mentioned

For an alternate “great way” – or as an addition – Chapter Two suggests Study the Endgame. Again, Davies gives game examples from his students, but this should not be necessary to persuade readers of the truth of his suggestion: most club players unconsciously imitate the play of early chess-playing computers, memorizing opening moves, concentrating on tactics at the expense of long-term planning, and playing the endings like duffers…

Davies would have been justified in giving a Chapter Three (“Study the Endgame Some More”) and a Chapter Four (“Keep Studying the Endgame”) just to reinforce the topic. It’s just really that important.

I wish I had taken more of my own advice before playing the following game.

perrypawnpusher - BEEB
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+

A "calming variation", but still a side line to watch.

8.Kxf2 Qf6+

8...Qh4+ was played unsuccessfully in annicks - Ribosome, Dos Hermanas Internet, 2002, (1-0, 23).

9.Qxf6+ Nxf6

By returning the sacrificed piece, Black has moved play into a Queenless middlegame or early endgame where he is simply down a pawn.

He no longer faces the Bashi-Bazouk attack of the Jerome Gambit. However, he also no longer has an objectively won game.

Sometimes, chess is a strange game.

10.Nc3

I have also tried 10.d3, as in perrypawnpusher - ScudRocket, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 24)

10...Re8

Black could play 10...Rf8 as in blackburne03 - bobby-pisher, Internet Chess Club, 2003, (1-0, 23) or perrypawnpusher - Edvardinho, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0,42); or in a delayed manner such as 10...b6 11.d3 d6 12.Rf1 Rf8 in blackburne - Bullit52, ChessWorld thematic tournament, 2007 (1-0, 32),


He also could start with 10...d6 and after 11.d4 c6 12.h3 play 12...Re8 as in brianwall - maten8, Internet Chess Club, 2004 (1-0, 21).

11.d3 d6 12.Rf1 Ng4+ 13.Kg1+ Kg7

Tactics can hide even in "boring" positions. For example, now 14.Nd5

14.h3

Laziness on my part. "The game will play itself."

The possible Knight fork at c7 remains "on" for a number of moves, despite my overlooking it.

14...Ne5 15.Be3 Be6 16.b3 c5 17.a4 a6 18.Rf2 Rf8 19.Raf1 Rxf2 20.Rxf2 Rb8 21.d4 Nd7 22.dxc5 dxc5 23.Nd5 b5

Like two zombies dancing a waltz, my opponent and I push the pieces around the board and pretend that we are playing chess...

24.axb5

If someone had whispered "Pssst. This is a middlegame" I might have looked for and found the tactical 24.Bf4 Rb7 25.Nc7 Bf7 26.Rd2 Nf6 27.Nxa6 bxa4 28.Nxc5 Rb5 29.Nxa4 Nxe4 30.Re2

analysis diagram







24...axb5 25.Nf4 Bg8 26.Nd3 c4 27.bxc4 bxc4 28.Bd4+ Kh6 29.Ne5 Rb1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Nf6

For all of my shuffling, the e-pawn will now be lost.

32.Be3+ Kh5

My opponent has grown complacent, too, or he would have played the wiser 32...Kg7

33.c3

Readers who enjoy tactical endgames surely saw the better 33.g4+  which merely threatens checkmate after 33...Kh4 34.Kg2, costing Black his Knight.

Playing on "auto-pilot" was hurting both of us.

33...Nxe4 34.Bd4

The checkmate was still on, in a slightly longer version, with 34.g4+.

34...Ng3+ 35.Kf2 Nf5

This slip costs a piece.

36.g4+ Kh4 37.gxf5 gxf5 38.Kg2

With a piece for a pawn, White is now winning – but how exactly does he win?

If he can get his King to d4 and then attack the Black pawn at c4 a second time (with the Knight) he can win it. For that to happen, it might be best to trade White's weak h-pawn for Black's f-pawn. Then, with the help of the extra piece, White's c-pawn can be "faster" than Black's h-pawn.

38...Bd5+ 39.Kh2

Protecting the pawn for now. After the game Rybka suggested 39.Nf3+, since 39...Kh5 40.Kg3 Be4 41.h4 Bd5 42.Kf4 Be6 43.Bf2 Kg6 44.Ne5+ Kh5 45.Nc6 Bd7 46.Ne7 would allow White to win the f-pawn. If Black exchanges off the Knight instead with 39...Bxf3+ 40.Kxf3 then after 40...Kxh3 41.Kf4 White's King will wander over and win the Black c-pawn and Queen his own; the Black h-pawn will not be an issue.

39...Be6 40.Nf3+ Kh5 41.Kg3 f4+

A mistaken offer to exchange pawns that I should have accepted.

42.Kh2 Kg6 43.Kg2 Kf5 44.Ne5 Bd5+ 45.Nf3 Bg8

Black is content to sit and wait.

It is not clear to me that there is a win any more for White, as Black's advanced King and h-pawn make it dangerous for White's King to leave that area to help win the c-pawn.

My "winning try" falls to the inevitability of the Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.

46.Kf2 Ke4 47.Nd2+ Kd3 48.Nxc4 Kxc4 49.Kf3 Be6 50.h4 Kd5 51.Kxf4

The position is drawn now, and a dozen moves later, too.

51...Bf7 52.Kg5 Bg6 53.h5 Bd3 54.Kf6 Ke4 55.Kg7 Kf4 56.h6 Kg5 57.Bf6+ Kh5 58.Bd4 Kg5 59.Be3+ Kh5 60.c4 Bxc4 61.Kxh7 Bd3+ 62.Kg7 Kg4 63.h7 Bxh7 drawn

This game contained plenty of wasted opportunities.

Chandler on the Loose

When honorary Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member Geoff Chandler (yes, he has played the Jerome!) finished his postings at Chandler Cornered, (see "Chandler Unbound") he left a gap in chess commentary that was almost impossible to fill. 

(See "Mars Attacks!", "Whodunnit??", and "Hitler vs Lenin in Chess?!" for a few examples.)

So it was with great excitement that I noticed recently that Chessville now has Chandler on the Loose; and, furthermore, the folks at C'ville point out that at the Red Hot Pawn site, Geoff has been blogging at The Planet Greenpawn.

Wonderful!

(By the way, observe closely the drawing of Chandler, above. See the tiniest indication of a white square at the right of the chessboard in front of Geoff? Aha! See, the illustration does follow the rule of "white on the right" when it comes to setting up the board. Of course, if you count all of the squares, from right to left, there are nine, including "white on the left" too!) 

Closer... But not there yet

I keep playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), especially one particularly risky variation, knowing that someday one of my opponents will know enough about the wild defense to sacrifice his Queen and destroy me...

I make my moves, remembering Gary K. Gifford's re-naming of the opening as the "Jerome Gamble" – and breathe a sigh of a relief as someone gets closer... but not there yet.

perrypawnpusher - intssed
blitz, FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.Qf5+

The alternative in this 6...Ke6 variation (one of the many Jerome Gambit refutations) is 7.f4, although 7...d6 – a favorite of computers – presents its own problems.

7...Kd6 8.f4 Qh4+

Not the first move a naive defender would think up. So – how much does intssed know??

9.g3 Nf3+

Closer. "Getting warmer..." as the kids say in their game.

10.Kf1

Better-known is 10.Kd1 – which is why I played this alternative. Also, there is a built-in distraction for Black.

10...Nxh2+

This is a how-do-I-get-out-of-this-mess style move. I first saw it when I was reviewing Unorthodox Chess, by Some Loser (no joke, check out my review at Chessville.com).

11.Kg2

Now Some Loser's analysis continues with the smart 11...Qg4, when 12.Qd5+ Ke7 13.Qxc5+ d6 14.Qf2 Nf6 15.Rxh2 Nxe4 16.Qe3 Qe6 is about even. 

analysis diagram







Instead, my opponent recoiled from the whole situation, moving his Queen away from the attack by my pawn. We've seen this kind of reflexive move before, and it can lead to disaster.

11...Qe7 12.Qd5 checkmate

The Psychology of Gambit Chess Openings

I am going to take advantage of the return of Chessville to point out Clyde Nakamura's very interesting article there on "The Psychology of Gambit Chess Openings".

Clyde is a very creative, aggressive player who specializes in gambits, many of his own creation.

While his article uses gambits other than the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) to make his points, this makes it doubly worth reading: learn about the psychology of gambits, maybe pick up one or two unortodox openings as well...

Chessville is back!

Chessville is back online!

Readers have come to know Chessville as a place to find opening analysis, especially analysis of unorthodox openings, as well as news of the chess world, book & product reviews and chess fiction (including the Sherlock Holmes, Perry the Pawnpusher and "Kennedy Kids" stories). 

After about a half-year lapse in new material, and a month or so (lately) of being un-reachable, Chessville (you can also find it in my "Links") is back online and will soon be adding new content.

See you there!

The Cure Being Worse Than the Disease

Hmmm... As I was mumbling just last month (see "Declining the Jerome Gambit - Légally") –

Given that my favorite opening, the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has so many refutations, I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who go out of their way to decline the fool thing.

Having faced my opponent's (I did not name him/her) creative declined line, I was able to make my way through and finish in 10 moves, using Légall's mate. (Again, David Surratt's article on Légall's Mate at Chessville is well worth reading.)

So – when I was matched with the same opponent again, I wondered what would happen...

perrypawnpusher  - NN
blitz FICS, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f6

Okay, no Jerome Gambit today, either.

4.0-0

Our earlier game had continued, instead, 4.d4 d6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.dxe5 fxe5 7.Nc3 Nd4 8.Nxe5 Bxd1 9.Bf7+ Ke7 10.Nd5 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - NN, blitz FICS, 2010

4...g5

Apparently the problem with the first declined game, in my opponent's consideration, was that it wasn't aggressive enough.

By the way, I gave this game to Rybka for some "blunderchecking" overnight (5 minutes a move) and it had some creative things to show me about Black's choice at move 4.  Rybka's recommended line was 4...Nge7 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd1 Ne5 9.Bb3 c6 10.Be3 h5 11.Nc3 g5 12.Qd4, which it rated as slightly better for White.

analysis diagram






I was amazed. It couldn't be.

So I set Rybka on "infinite analysis" on this position and let it analyze about 18 ply deep. It turns out that I was right. Rybka didn't see this position as slightly better for White any more. It saw it as just about even.

Couldn't White do better? I backed up a move and tried 12.f4 instead of 12.Qd4, and after 12...gxf4 13.Bxf4 Qe7 White was slightly better, again.

I backed up another move, and tried 11.h3 instead of 11.Nc3. Again, Rybka said that after 11...g5 12.Nd2 Qe7 White was slightly better.

Finally, I tried 10.f4 instead of 10.Be3, and after 10...Nf7 11.Be3 Be7 Rybka gave me a +/-.

Clearly, Black still had resources at move 4. Unfortunately, the move chosen was not one of them.

5.Nxg5 fxg5 6.Qh5+ Ke7

7.Qf7+

My silicon buddy suggested later that 7.d4 would have been even stronger.

7...Kd6 8.b3

Going for the quick checkmate, but, again, 8.d4 was objectively better.

8...a6  9.Ba3+ Nb4

10.Bxb4+

The mind is a funny thing. I thought that the Bishop on a3 was there to capture the Knight on b4. It wasn't. It actually was there to pin the Knight, so White could play 10.Qd5+ Ke7 11.Qxe5 mate. 

10...c5 11.Qd5+ Kc7 12.Ba5+ b6 13.Qxa8

13...Bb7 14.Bxb6+ Kxb6 15.Qxd8+ Ka7 Black resigned

Declining the Jerome Gambit - Légally

Given that my favorite opening, the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)has so many refutations, I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who go out of their way to decline the fool thing.

I need to have a whole new set of ideas if I want to win my games!


perrypawnpusher - NN
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f6

No Jerome Gambit today.

4. d4 d6

Seriously: no Jerome.

5. O-O Bg4

Pinning my Knight. I get it, I get it: no Jerome.

6. dxe5 fxe5 7. Nc3

7...Nd4

Punishing me, on top of everything else, for my mis-placed Bishop on c4.

Clearly my opponent – whose name I have omitted for fairness' sake – is not a regular reader of this blog, or he would know how riled up I get when facing ...Nc6-d4.

8. Nxe5 Bxd1

Goodbye, Queen.

9. Bf7+ Ke7 10. Nd5 checkmate

Goodbye, King.

This well-known opening trap is credited to the French player M. de Kermar, Sire de Légall (1702-1792). It also is sometimes called the Blackburne Trap, since the English player Joseph Blackburne (1859-1951) used to catch so many players in it! It can arise in a number of different move orders, and it's one of those traps you need to be aware of so you don't fall victim to your own greed! Learn to recognize the pattern you see in the following examples.

The rest of David Surratt's article on Légall's Mate is at Chessville.